The present invention relates generally to electronic components and, more particularly, to electronic component assemblies which include an electronic component and a heatsink, the heatsink being mounted on the electronic component to remove at least some of the heat produced by the electronic component during use.
Electronic components, such as integrated circuit (IC) chip packages, are well known and commonly used in the art to perform electronic functions. Integrated circuit chips are often manufactured in dual-in-line (DIP) leaded packages which can be through-hole or surface mounted on a printed circuit board or a surface-mountable chip carrier.
In use, it has been found that IC chip packages often produce significant levels of heat. In particular, as integrated circuit technology has advanced the density of IC chips, it has been found that the amount of heat produced by the IC chips has increased appreciably. The increased levels of heat produced by IC chips during use introduces numerous problems. For example, increased levels of heat produced by an integrated circuit chip can potentially cause the IC chip to malfunction.
As a consequence, various methods have been employed in the art to cool integrated circuit chips. One well-known method for cooling integrated circuit chips involves blowing air across the IC chip using either a fan or a blower.
Another well-known method for cooling integrated circuit chips involves mounting a small channel-shaped or fin-shaped heatsink on the top surface of each IC chip. Heatsinks are typically manufactured of a highly, thermally conductive metal, such as aluminum, and are mounted on the top surface of the integrated circuit chip to dissipate heat produced by the IC chip during use by means of thermal conduction. Heatsinks typically comprise a plurality of parallel fins which are mounted on a base and which serve to facilitate the radiation and convection of the conducted heat. Often a fan or blower will be used to help cool the parallel fins.
Heatsinks are often mounted on the surface of electronic components using a thermally conductive epoxy, such as a silicon compound. However, the use of a thermally conductive epoxy to mount a heatsink onto the surface of an electronic component is a significantly complex manufacturing procedure, which thereby increases the overall cost and complexity of manufacturing. For example, it has been found that there is a considerable level of difficulty in depositing an epoxy layer of uniform thickness between the electronic component and the heatsink. Furthermore, the heatsink and the electronic component must be pressed together with a certain amount of pressure for a certain amount of time in a certain orientation, which further increases the complexity of manufacturing.
Heatsinks have also been mounted on the surface of electronic components using an elongated, generally C-shaped, spring-biased metal clip, the clip having a first end, a second end and a central member between the two ends. Each end is shaped to include a mounting hole. In use, the mounting hole at the first end of the spring biased metal clip is lockably engaged onto a finger at one side of a socket on which the electronic component is mounted. The central member of the spring clip extends longitudinally over the parallel fins and the mounting hole at the second end is lockably engaged to a finger on an opposite side of the socket on which the electronic component is mounted. As such, the central member of the clip applies a downward pressure onto the heatsink, thereby forcing the heatsink down against the electronic component, as desired.
It should be noted that the prior art techniques for cooling IC chips that were noted above have found to be inadequate for cooling high density integrated circuit chips. Specifically, high density integrated circuit chips are often mounted on a printed circuit board which, in turn, is disposed within a relatively confined area of an electronic system.
Due to the relatively confined space in which the high density IC chip is disposed, it has been found that inadequate air flow is able to cool the IC chip to efficiently remove the relatively large amount of heat produced by the relatively small sized IC chip. In addition, the relatively small surface area of high density IC chips does not lead itself to physically mounting a heat sink thereon, especially a heatsink of the size that would be necessary to handle the heat generated. Furthermore, the high density IC chip is often disposed in a relatively confined space and in close proximity to other high density IC chips. The positioning of the high density IC chip in close proximity to other IC chips can create a shadowing effect in which the heat produced by neighboring IC chips is transferred to the high density IC chip, thereby increasing the total amount of heat produced by the IC chip.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved heatsink assembly.
It is another object of this invention to provide a heatsink assembly which removes at least some of the heat produced by an electronic component during use.
It is yet object of this invention to provide a heatsink assembly of the type described above which is relatively small in size and which can fit within a relatively confined area.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a heatsink assembly of the type described above which has a limited number of parts, which is inexpensive to manufacture and which is easy to use.